Garnett makes triumphant return to Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Kevin Garnett didn't have to do too much
to make a triumphant return to his former home court.

In his first game at the Target Center since being traded last
offseason, the All-Star forward registered 17 points in just 29
minutes to lead the Boston Celtics to a 95-78 victory over the
Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.

Minnesota's crowd gave Garnett a thunderous ovation as he made
his long-awaited return to the arena. The Celtics visited the
Timberwolves last season, but Garnett was injured and could not
play.

"It was good to feel the love. Even better to win in a place
that you used to play," Garnett said. "But it was a good
feeling. There was a lot of good energy in the building. I was
blessed that the people came out and showed their love. So
thank you to the fans."

Unlike most of his 12-year tenure in Minnesota, Garnett no
longer has to carry the bulk of the offense on his shoulders. A
balanced scoring attack has become one of the Celtics' calling
cards - and it was part of the reason they marched to an NBA
championship last season.

That was the case once again on Friday, as Garnett led a
balanced scoring attack featuring six players in double figures
as the team improved to 11-2.

"We're a work in progress," Garnett said. "I think that our
defense is ahead of our offense right now. Offense is about
rhythm and we're working on getting that rhythm night in and
night out. But for the most part, we're playing hard and
playing great defense. We're not perfect."

The Celtics recovered from a sluggish start to take over for
good in the third quarter. Garnett scored eight points and
Rajon Rondo collected 11 his 13 as Boston outscored Minnesota,
35-10, in the third quarter.

The Celtics' suffocating defense held the Timberwolves to just
2-of-17 shooting in the period.

"I thought in the first half we played to their level," Garnett
said. "In the second half, Doc (Rivers) told us to get back to
Celtic basketball and do the things that we know how to do and
especially do defensively what we wanted to do. We never looked
back. Once we get a lead we like to, as we say, put on the gas,
and the second unit came in and finished it off well."

Minnesota was able to stay in the game early thanks to the play
of its reserves. The bench sparked an 8-0 run to begin the
second quarter, during which the Timberwolves held the Celtics
to just 14 points and forced 12 turnovers. They held a 39-36
advantage at halftime.

"I was really worried about this game," Celtics coach Doc Rivers
said. "Minnesota just won last night and in the first half we
couldn't make a shot. Everything was hitting the rim and it
looked like we were running in mud."

Al Jefferson - who was part of last year's trade, getting dealt
from Boston to Minnesota - led all scorers with 23 points, but
was held to just four rebounds. Sebastian Telfair added 13, all
but two of which came in the fourth quarter - long after the
result was decided.

"At halftime, I did feel good looking at the shooting percentage
- we were 27 percent, I think - and we were still up three,"
Minnesota coach Randy Wittman said. "I thought we would come
out (in the second half) and shoot the ball better than we did."

While the Celtics improved to 3-0 against Minnesota since the
Garnett trade, this was the most-lopsided victory yet. They won
both meetings against the T-Wolves last year, but they came by a
combined three points (87-86 on January 25 and 88-86 on February
8).

Since the blockbuster trade, Boston and Minnesota have gone in
opposite directions. The rebuilding T-Wolves are 24-68 since
dealing Garnett, while the Celtics are 77-18 with an NBA title.

"They have three of the best players in the league on that
team," Minnesota rookie forward Kevin Love said. "They've got
the pieces together on their team and a great coach. They
really turned it on in the second half. We need to keep getting
better. We are young and that's a tough team there. If they
are going to turn it on and have a hot second half, there's not
really much you can do."